AUS FOOTBALL PREVIEW: X-Men QB Wasdal sets the bar high

St. Francis Xavier quarterback Bailey Wasdal expects to build on a solid rookie season when the AUS football regular season opens on Saturday.

The uncertainties of being a rookie quarterback has been supplanted by maturity and confidence for St. Francis Xavier sophomore pivot Bailey Wasdal.

“There’s definitely a different kind of mentality and approach for me coming into this season,” said Wasdal, who was handed the No. 1 job out of training camp last season and led the X-Men to their third Atlantic university championship in four years.

“Every player deals with fear and doubt and certain insecurities. I think last year coming in I was asking myself if I can contribute to this team, can I play in the AUS, can I be competitive. But this year, it’s more like, I know I can contribute, I know I can be competitive. The next challenge is how I can take this team to another level where we can be competitive on a national stage.

“It’s just a different standard for me now. I have more perspective, more experience and I’m familiar with the AUS. The bar is set a little higher for myself. I have higher expectations and now I can hold our team to a higher standard as well.”

Wasdal, who played three seasons with the highly-regarded Calgary Colts in the Canadian Junior Football League before committing to St. F.X. in the spring of 2018, gained more confidence as the season wore on.

He finished second among AUS quarterbacks in touchdowns (nine) and passing efficiency (136.8) and third in completions (121), completion rate (61.7 per cent) and yards (1,494). He even rushed for 346 yards.

The X-Men were 6-2 during the regular season and then beat the Acadia Axemen 33-10 in the semifinal before disposing of the Saint Mary’s Huskies 33-9 during a wet and windy Loney Bowl conference championship last November.

“Last year, it was nice to see him learn the league and gain confidence throughout the course of the year as he got better each game,” St. F.X. head coach Gary Waterman said of Wasdal.

“What we’re hoping for is that he’ll start off where he finished last season and that’s at a high level. He has the benefit of being around for our winter program and off-season training. He worked with our coordinator throughout the off-season, including film and play book stuff. He didn’t have that opportunity the year before. We think he’ll be another year seasoned.”

The X-Men host the Mount Allison Mounties (2-6) in the 2019 AUS season opener this Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) at St. F.X. Stadium.

The St. F.X. offence will have a new look this season without two all-Canadians — receiver Kaion Julien-Grant, the AUS MVP who’s playing pro with the Montreal Alouettes, and running back Jordan Socholotiuk, the Loney Bowl MVP who has returned to the St. F.X. program as a graduate assistant coach.

Greg McDonald, Isaac Fagnan and rookie Zakariya Karim will be among Wasdal’s targets on the receiving corps.

“Guys will have to step up and play the role and that includes myself,” Wasdal said. “I put a lot of the onus on myself to step up and make up for that contribution.

“Last year, we had an offence that was heavy on the run game because we had a fifth-year running back like Jordan and we relied on the quick game because we had guys like Kaion who we could just get the ball in their hands and let them do the rest of the work.

“But we have young guys in the receiver corps and running backs that are ready to step up and fill the roles. We are not afraid of the expectations and we’re ready to fill the shoes of those guys.”

Saturday’s other matchup features the Bishop’s Gaiters (0-8) visiting the Acadia Axemen (5-3) at 3 p.m.

Defensively, last season’s outstanding lineman Thomas Grant, 2017 defensive player of the year Bailey Feltmate and all-star halfback Rory Kelly lead the charge.

The stars may be back but it’s the loss of some key role players that concerns Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins.

“We lost three starters on the offensive line. That’s where the rubber meets the road,” Cummins said. “The offensive line is a tough spot to replace guys. When you lose that, a combined 90 games of experience as starters between them, that’s tough to beat.

“But who knows how the season will go. I’ve been doing this long enough where I’ll walk into the season and think we’re going to be pretty good and we aren’t. Or think it’s going to be a tough one and we win two or three right out of the gate. I won’t know anything until the third game of the season. It’s then when I should have a general idea of where we stand.

“But we have a great bunch of kids and we’re going to battle and compete really hard. We’ll be good on special teams. If we can stay healthy, that’ll be the key for us.”

The Huskies (7-1) have the bye this weekend and will open next Saturday at Mount Allison.

SMU has 11 returnees on defence and 10 on offence.

Quarterback Kaleb Scott, who led SMU to a 7-0 record to start the 2018 campaign before a leg injury cost him the rest of the season, has moved on. Josh Shim, an NCAA transfer who played at Georgia State, is expected to take most of the snaps. Cameron Valardo, who filled in admirably in Scott’s place last season, also returns.

They’ll have plenty of targets to choose from, including all-star receiver Liam O’Brien, Josh Henry and AUS rookie of the year Shedler Fervius.

The Huskies will be strong defensively with the likes of reigning defensive player of the year Brad Herbst and all-stars Antoine Lyte-Myers and Jordan Angove.

Peter Fraser has a restocked lineup to begin his second year as Mount A’s head coach.

Quarterback Troy Downton, defensive back Nate Rostek and the running back duo of Kiel Ambursley and Chris Reid have all graduated while receiver Malik Richards is plying his trade in the CFL.

The Mounties are strong on the defensive side of the ball with Marshall Esokpunwu and Damian Halstead.

Former CFL player and two-time AUS most outstanding player Kyle Graves has joined the Mounties’ coaching staff.

Beginning its third season in the AUS, Bishop’s will look to rebound from a winless season. The Gaiters have a solid young nucleus with defensive back Aarron Franklin and receiver Nathan Walker.